When Brad Richards was seven years old he lost his cousin and best friend Jamie (5 years old) to a brain tumor. To honor the memory of his friend, Richards set up the Brad Richards Foundation which “exists to provide exceptional experiences and treatment for children and families enduring chronic and life threatening illness.”

There is a moment after every Lightning home game that reminds Brad Richards what truly is important.

It happens shortly after the final horn, when Tampa Bay’s star center walks into a room under the stands of the St. Pete Times Forum and into a world of smiles and thank yous.

It is when Richards meets the childhood cancer patients who watched the game from his suite.

Richards father Glen told the St. Pete Times “As the years went on, he thought about it and realized that, as a pro athlete, he could give back and always have Jamie’s memory.”

Stars Blog Laughs2Loud wrote about Richards when he first arrived in Dallas and came upon this story of what Richards did with the Stanley Cup in Tampa Bay.

As the Conn Smythe winner, Brad got to spend an extra day with the Stanley Cup. For that day he brought the Cup to Tampa Bay and at 10AM that Tuesday, Richards invited his Richy’s Rascals to join him and the Stanley Cup at Game Works in Ybor City. The arcade was buzzing like a wet bee as the excitement level grew in the arcade/restaurant. Special friend Martin St. Louis dropped by to say hi to the gang. Coach John Tortorella came a little bit later, too. The children chomped on pizza and scooped up spoonfuls of ice cream….The boys and girls got their pictures taken with their heroes and the Stanley Cup. That morning, the Stanley Cup wore pizza sauce and ice cream too, but you know — it didn’t matter. A huge smile takes precedence over a good scrub every time.

His former GM Jay Feaster told The Hockey News “I love Brad like a son and I think the world of him. He’s just a wonderful young man who was raised the right way.”

His former teammate Marty St. Louis told a story of how he and Richards went to Toronto for the 2004 NHL awards and how Richards accompanied St. Louis to an early morning portion of the ceremony where the Lester B. Pearson award (which St. Louis was nominated for) was being handed out. St. Louis said “he came to the ceremony to support me- that just showed what kind of teammate and individual he was, because that morning wasn’t about him.”

St. Louis added “he’s a heck of a hockey player but he’s twice the person.”